Rug



Oct 6,1925. 1,556,175 W. M. STEVENSON RUG Filed Sept. 15, 1924 Patented Oct. 6,19 25.

I UNITED STATES {PATENT orr cs wit-LIAM M. s'rnvmwson, or osnxosir, wrsoonsm, ASSIGNOR r0 warm cases can- PET COMPANY, or osnxosn, WISGONSIN,;A CORPORATION or wrsoonsm.

BUG.

Application filed September 1 5, 1924. Serial No. 737,666.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM M. S'rEvEN-- soN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Oshkosh, in the county of. W1nnebago and State .of Wisconsin, have invented cer-' tain new and useful Improvements in Rugs, of which the following is a specification.

This invention is directed to a woven rug having a warp, preferably composed of twisted .paper twine, commonly known as fiber, and a weft composed of grass twine. The combination of these two materials in a woven rug displays a number-of s ecialfeatures of advantage which cannot e attained in the use of the materials separately. The grass twine, being relatively stiff and bulky affords the necessary body to the rug, and also provides an intermediate cushion for the warp strands, which, being made of tightly twisted paper, constitute the wearing surface of the rug and affords high resistance to abrasive action. At the same time the presence of the grass weft prevents the packing down of the paper warp, which is an objectionable characteristic of fiber rugs composed entirely of paper twine.

In like manner, the bulky weft serves to afford the necessary interstices in the rug fabric to permit the rug to quickly dry out in case it becomes wet, which is a feature of importance in rugs including paper twine as a constituent.

' The invention, in itsmore limited aspects,

. lines of diagonally extending closely laid ribs or, elevations which com letely protect the more friable weft from a rasive action.

"Further objects and features of the present mvention will appear from a detailed description thereof.

In the drawings: I

Figure 1 is a lan view of a section of rug" embodying t e features. of the present invention;

I Fig. 2 is an enlargedcross sectional view cutting'across the grass weft strands;

Fig."3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view at right angles to .that of- Fig. 2, cuttingacross the warp strands;

Fig. 4 is. a length of one of the weft strands and a Fig. 5 is a strands.

length of one of the warp I The rugnonsists of a plurality of weft strands A, each of which is composed of a series of straight laid overlapping wisps of stiif flexible wire grass B which are bundled together and secured by means of a wrapping thread C, as is common in'the forming of grass tw ne.

The weft strands A are laid in parallel relation and spaced apart sufliciently to permit the interweaving of the warp strands D. The warp strands, as shown, in Fig. 5, vare formed of lengths of tough fibrous paper E twisted together to form a somewhat bulky twine having a diameter, as shown, of about one-third of that of the weft strands. The character of the paper twine, ordinarily used in rug construction,- at the present time, is such as to afford a very considerable tensile strength and a surface which is highly'resistant to abrasive action.

The warp strands, in the rug illustrated, are interwoven with the weft strands in the following manner: Each 'warp strand is interlaced alternatively over and under two of the weft strands, but 'in such relation as to afford a series of.diagonally extending ribs or elevations F, each rib or elevation comprising the closely adjacent portionsv of succeeding warp strands, which, lying in contact with one. another, afford an unbroken rib of considerable thickness orbulk which cushions against the interposed weft strands.

As indicated in Fig. 1, and reading from the left lower side, the first warp strand will-underlie the first pair of weft stands and overlie the second pair and so on. The

'warp strand,- and the fourth warp strand will underlie the first individual weft strand and then break joints evenly by pairs of weft strands with the second warp strand. Since the adjacent warp strands recurrently lie in close lateral'contact with one another, any lateral shifting of the warp strands will be impossible, and since the first and thlld, and

second and fourth warp strands are passed in opposite directions through the samespace between the weft strands, the latter will be tightly interlocked and held against outward protrusion or bulging, so that no por tion of the grass surface will be exposed to abrasion, although sections thereof will be visible which affords a pleasing appearance to the rug, and at thesame time provides gaps or spaces between the upstanding warp ribs, so that moisture may easily evaporate and prevent a matting down of the paper surface.

By combining a grass weft with a fibrous paper twine warp the rug fabric, as a whole, is stiffened in both ways. That is, the stiffness is divided equally between the paper warp and the grass weft. This avoids a tendency of the fabric to buckle and creep which is common in ordinary grass rugs which lack a warp having any material degree of stiffening action.

The-present rug, by reason of an equal balance of stifi'ness, will lie perfectly flat and cannot buckle. Not only is there a balance as to stiffness, but there is substantial equality in the weight of materials and a balance on the wearing qualities. Rugs made entirely of fiber lack this balance and have a tendency to buckle, unless a heavy sizing is applied. In the present invention, by reasonof the equal division of stiffness and weight, the fabric cannot kick up either at the sides or ends which is not true where there is a marked disparity in Weight between the materials used for the warp and the weft.

In the rug of the present invention the grass wisps employed in the weft are sufficiently stiff to afford the necessary stiffening quality, but these fibers being laidin an untwisted twine at the same time afford a highly desirable cushion filler for the warp strands to enable the desired close packing thereof.

The'manner of interlacing the warp with the grass weft is such that it not only firmly binds the fabric together, but also forms a protective wearing surface and prevents disintegration of the grass weft which is a common objection to grass rugs of the ordinary character. In addition to the above, the paper twine, being of a fibrous character, readily absorbs color, so thata stencil de slgn can be applied to the fabric, in which case, the color, adhering to the exposed portlons of the grass surface will notbe subjected to wear which is important, since the hard enamel like surface of the wire grass wisps will not absorb color and requires protection against abrasion in order to prevent a rubbing'off of. the color. Furthermore, by use of a paper twine warp, multiple color effects can be introduced during the weaving of .a rug, since the strands of paper twine can be readily dyed to any color or combination of colors, and since the warp afiords rug, commonly known as a fiber rug, on the other, and at the same time combines the desirable qualities of these materials, both of which are relatively inexpensive as compared with yarns or fabrics "commonly employed in the weaving of rugs. The resulting rug is one which, by reason of its comparatively open character, will not readily retain dirt, sand or grit, which makes it peculiarly adapted for porch use, and at the same time the comparatively soft texture of the wearing surface, as well as its pleasing appearance, adapts it for indoor use in cases where a grass rug would not be deemed suitable.

I claim:

1. In a rug, the combination of a plurality of relatively bulky weft strands of grass twine extending in parallel relation to one another, and a warp composed of warp strands of fibrous material interlaced through the weft strands and laid in close laterally adjacent; relation to one another and standing away from the weft strands to prevent exposure of the grass twine to abrasive action, substantiallyas described.

2. In a rug, the combination of a plural ity of relatively bulky weft strands of grass twine extending in parallel relation to one another, and a warp composed of warp strands of fibrous material interlaced through the weft strands and laid in close laterally adjacent relation to one another and standing away from the weft strands to prevent exposure of the grass twine to abrasive action, each warp strand passing alternately under and over a. pair of weft strands, and laterally adjacent warp strands dividing the pairs of weft strands, substantially as described.

3. In a rug, the combination of a plurality of relatively bulky weft strands of grass twine extending in parallel relation to one another, and a warp composed of warp strands of fibrous material interlaced through the weft strands and laid in close laterally adjacent relation to one another and standing away from the weft strands to prevent exposure of the grass twine to abrasive action, ea'ch warp strand passing under and over pairs of weft strands, the first and third warp strands inte rlacing with one pair of weft strands, the second and fourth warp strands dividing the first mentioned pair of weft strands and interlacing with another pair of weft strands to afford diagonally outstanding ribs composed of exposed sections of adjacent warp strands, substantially as described.

4. In a rug, the combination of parallel relatively bulky weft strands composed of bundles of overlapping wisps of grass in straight laid relation, and a warp composed of twisted paper twine, the warp strands being interlaced between the weft strands in close lateral relation to one another to afford an upstanding wearing surface above the plane of the grass surface to prevent albrasive action thereon, substantially as described.

5. In a rug, the combination of parallel relatively bulky weft strands composed of bundles of overlapping wisps of grass in straight laid relation, and a warp composed of twisted paper twine, the warp strands being interlaced between the weft strands in close lateral relation to one another to afford an upstanding wearing surface above the plane of the grass surface to prevent abrasive action thereon, each warp strand passing alternately under" and over a pair of weft strands, and laterally adjacent warp strands dividing the pairs of weft strands, substantially as described. 7

6. In a rug, the combination of parallel relatively bulky weft strands composed of bundles of overlapping wisps of grass in straight laid relation and a warp composed of twisted paper twine, the warp strands being interlaced between the weft strands in close lateral relation to one another to afford an upstanding wearing surface above the plane of the grass surface to prevent abrasive action thereon, each warp strand passing under and over pairs of weft strands, the first and third warp strands interlacing with one pair of weft strands, the second and fourth warp strands dividing the first mentioned pair of weft strands and interlacin with another pair of weft strands to afford diagonally outstanding ribs composed of exposed sections of adjacent warp strands, substantially as described.

WILLIAM M. STEVENSON. 

